Enzymes have been employed in cleaning compositions since early in the 20th century. It was not until the mid 1960's when enzymes were commercially available with both the pH stability and soil reactivity for detergent applications. Enzymes are known as effective chemicals for use with detergents and other cleaning agents to break down soils. Enzymes break down soils making them more soluble and enabling surfactants to remove them from a surface and provided enhanced cleaning of a substrate.
Enzymes can provide desirable activity for removal of protein-based, carbohydrate-based, or triglyceride-based stains from substrates. As a result, enzymes have been used for various cleaning applications in order to digest or degrade soils such as grease, oils (e.g., vegetable oils or animal fat), protein, carbohydrate, or the like. For example, enzymes may be added as a component of a composition for laundry, textiles, ware washing, cleaning-in-place, drains, floors, carpets, medical or dental instruments, meat cutting tools, hard surfaces, personal care, or the like. However, enzyme cleaning products only focused on ability to remove soils from substrates. Although enzyme products have evolved from simple powders containing alkaline protease to more complex granular compositions containing multiple enzymes and still further to liquid compositions containing enzymes, there remains a need for alternative cleaning applications for enzymes.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the invention to develop methods for use of enzymes to remove soils from wash water sources.
A further object of the invention is to develop methods for improving sustainability of cleaning processes, such as decreasing the amounts of water and energy required for such processes through the cleaning of wash water sources with enzymes.